Ezekiel Jones And the Silver Coin
by Genevieve Kelly
Summary: When a wealthy woman is murdered by a thief who broke into her home to steal her most prized possession, the Librarians are sent to Dublin, Ireland to investigate, despite the appearance of it being a normal theft and murder. After their first run in with the monster, everything changes for the Librarians' own thief as he begins to second guess his decision to become a Librarian.
1. Chapter 1

Ezekiel Jones And the Silver Coin

Chapter One

It was pitch black on a rare night when the moon was absent from the sky and the city of Dublin was quiet. Inside the home of a woman by the name of Kitty Allgood, a man wearing a black coat over a dark hoodie, though the hood wasn't pulled up over the man's head, as he was wearing a black baseball like cap which obstructed his face, and had on sneakers and jeans, was kneeling over the homeowner's body for several minutes as he removed the jeweled necklace from around her neck and admired its emerald before finally standing tall as he carefully tucked the valuable possession inside a small box he carried with him before placing it inside his pocket.

The killer leaned down once again as he pulled out the dagger he used to stab the poor woman through her chest with, wiped the blade clean using a handkerchief found on a table nearby, then placed it back inside his coat and took a few steps toward the door like he was attempting to leave until the door to the large room burst open and two security officers came running inside with their weapons raised high and aimed to fire at the intruder.

"Freeze!" one of the guards shouted angrily as he stole a quick glance at the body of his employer on the floor behind the man standing over her. "What… Who the hell are you? Mrs. Allgood never did anything to anyone!"

"You're wrong," the man responded coolly with an unidentifiable accent, at least to the officers, as he glared at the two men standing before him. "But that isn't why I did this. I'm afraid I don't have time to chat gentlemen. I must go. Good luck on your future employment."

The other guard cried out, "You don't have anywhere to run! Freeze!"

All of a sudden, the intruder swiftly turned his back to them as he ran full speed toward the far wall when one of the men fired his gun, but to their surprise, the killer phased right through the barrier as if the wall were water and disappeared without a trace, then the he two guards stared at the wall dumbfounded before turning to look at each other as one of them spoke up again saying, "Did you have more than one beer tonight, because I sure as hell didn't? What the hell just happened?"

"I don't know, but there's no way in hell the police are going to believe us if we tell them that Mrs. Allgood's killer got away because he can walk through solid walls and we don't have any proof," his partner answered nervously. "We should have gotten the surveillance working again."

"Yeah, well she's the only one to blame for that," the other replied coldly. "She's Scrooge when it comes to hoarding money. We're going to have to make up some kind of story to tell the police when they come, otherwise we're both going to end up wearing straightjackets."

Inside the library…

The three Librarians and their Guardian came into the Library's main room where Jenkins was waiting for them while standing over the large globe as he prepared to open their portal for their next mission. Like usual, Ezekiel was busy running his mouth and annoying Jake as he rambled on and on about how one of his great heists. Jake had shouted at the thief to shut up, while Cassandra encouraged Ezekiel to continue as she asked him question, while Eve simply smiled as she observed her charges, despite her annoyance.

As they entered, Eve called out to the Caretaker as she said, "Help me, Jenkins. You're my only hope. Please tell me we've got something to get these two to quit their bickering even if it's just for a few minutes."

Jenkins smiled at the woman and responded, "Real cute. And yes, we've got ourselves a murder. According to the clipping book, a wealthy woman in her late forties from Dublin, Ireland was killed inside her home by an intruder, who apparently broke in to steal an emerald necklace worth over two million dollars, then stabbed the woman through her chest with some kind of blade, which he, or she, didn't care to leave behind at the scene."

"Okay, so how is this our kind of problem?" Ezekiel asked as he pulled out his own mini clipping book to read over the details for himself, as did the others. "There's no mention of any strange magic being used here."

"Jones is right, but if the clipping book says that magic was used in this murder, then this is where we're going," Baird answered with confidence. "Tell me you've got the portal set for Dublin, Jenkins."

Cassandra quickly cut in as she stated, "I've always wanted to see Ireland. This is so exciting. I mean… except for the murder that is. Murder is terrible."

Ezekiel shrugged as he replied, "I've been there. It is pretty great, but I'm not exactly too keen to go back."

"Why not?" Stone asked smugly. "Nothing of worth to steal?"

"Actually, there are plenty of things I could steal if I wanted to," the younger man responded. "I just don't care to run into someone that I once knew, that's all. It doesn't matter. Let's just get out of here."

Jenkins impatiently ushered the Librarians toward the door as he spoke again saying, "That's very fascinating, but time is of the essence. I don't want to read about another murder because the four of you were too busy yapping. Get out of here and then maybe I can get some work done, and some peace."

Ezekiel patted the Caretaker on the back and wrapped his arm around him as he answered, "I hate to break it to you old man, but we'll be back to bugging you very soon, I'm sure of it. Or at the very least, we'll be calling you."

"I can hardly wait," Jenkins replied dryly. "Just go find whatever artifact is involved in this murder and stop the monster that's in possession of it. And don't get yourselves killed in the process."

"It is always good to know that you care, Jenkins," Eve said as her charges passed through the portal. "We'll try not to get into too much trouble."


	2. Chapter 2

Ezekiel Jones And the Silver Coin

Chapter Two

When Eve and the Librarians passed through the portal from the Annex, they all walked through a door that led them straight into Kitty Allgood's home, right into the very room it was apparent she had been murdered in as they found that it was still marked as a crime scene. Luckily for them, there was no one inside the room as they appeared. It wasn't exactly easy to explain how it is they always seem to step in from out of nowhere.

Cassandra was the first to speak up as she noticed the red still coating the floor where the woman's body fell after she was killed, as she said with disgust, "Oh my, that's a lot of blood. I mean, that poor woman."

Baird nodded in agreement as she knelt down to observe the area and answered, "It does seem like a lot of blood for a simple knife wound. I don't think it was a simple kitchen knife or even a switchblade like knife our killer used. From the amount of blood here, not to mention the large space where the blood spatter reached, I would say that he or she used a serrated knife or large dagger."

"What's strange is that there's no indication of there being anyone here," Jake continued as he looked around the room. "Usually with a gruesome murder like this, the killer leaves behind some kind of evidence of him being here, like maybe footprints in the blood."

"Perhaps whatever kind of magic he used to break in here helped him, or her, to come and go without a trace," Ezekiel replied as he too looked around the room, not for the same reason as Jake, but because he was looking for the woman's possible valuables like any good thief does. "Wow, this woman really was loaded."

Stone glanced over at their own thief and glared at him as he noticed Ezekiel lifting up a small jade statue to exam its value, then stated angrily, "Would you quit eyeballing the woman's possessions, Jones, and pay attention to the real reason we're here?"

Jones rolled his eyes and looked up at the chandelier hanging down from the ceiling above them as he responded, "For your information, I can do both. I am multitasking. And just so you know, I think we're about to have company."

"What the… who the hell are you all now?" a security officer, who was obviously under Mrs. Allgood's employ, shouted as he suddenly walked through the door and quickly pulled his gun from his holster and aimed it toward the new intruders. "Don't move!"

"Whoa, whoa, just take it easy pal," Eve spoke up saying as she too raised her own weapon, while using her other hand to try to indicate that she and her charges were of no threat to the guard. "It's okay here, we're all… well we're just here to investigate Mrs. Allgood's death."

The officer looked between the four strangers and nervously said, "None of you look like policemen that were already here earlier. And how the hell did you get in here? Are you with our employer's killer?"

The Guardian quickly answered, "No, no, no, of course not. And no, we're not police, nor with the cops that were here, but I promise that we mean you no harm. A judging by your nerves, I'm guessing that you saw the killer. Perhaps you might have seen something, strange about him or her?"

"What do you mean, strange?" the man asked even more anxiously than before as he slowly began to lower his weapon. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Hey Dennis!" the other guard called out just as he entered the room behind him, then froze upon seeing the others, one of them with a weapon raised and aimed at his partner, then pulled his own gun. "What's going on here? Who are you?"

Ezekiel finally spoke up again saying frustratingly, "Ugh… Are we really going to go through this again? Look mates, we're Librarians and we're not looking to hurt you or your partner here. We just want to know what really happened to Kitty Allgood."

The second officer looked at the younger man as he stated coldly, "Your accent, I know that accent."

"Yeah, it's Australian," Jones replied in confusion. "I'm Australian. What of it?"

"The man who killed Mrs. Allgood had your accent," Dennis responded for his friend, with just as much suspicion in his voice as he and the other guard both turned their weapons on Ezekiel, who stepped back as he raised his hands high in the air. "It fact, you sound just like him."

Jake swiftly moved to stand between Jones and the two security guards to protect him as he said, "Wait! You've both got to listen, Jones here is a lot of things, but he certainly not a murderer. Besides, he wasn't even here early this morning when your boss was killed. Trust me, he was too busy annoying us like he always does."

Dennis looked over at his partner as he spoke again saying, "I think they're telling the truth, Mike. Besides, the guy who killed Mrs. Allgood, he had a somewhat deeper voice and I think he was taller."

"It's a strange coincidence that two men with the same accents would appear here within a few hours of each other, don't you think?" Mike answered skeptically, then glared again at Jones. "Can you do what he did too? Is that how you all got in here without us or the cops keeping an eye on the place seeing you? Are you here to steal more of Kitty's valuable possessions?"

Cassandra looked at the two guards as she replied, "No, of course not! Exactly what do you mean by, what he did too? What did you see here last night?"

Dennis nervously responded too quickly, "It's nothing. We didn't see anything. What we told the cops out there is what happened."

"You lied to the police," Baird stated, recognizing what the officer really meant. "You gave them some bogus story so that they wouldn't think you're crazy. Please, I promise you that we won't think you're nuts. Strange and the unexplained is what we do for a living. Tell us what it is you saw."

"If seeing a monster dressed all in black, almost appearing as nothing more than a dark shadow or apparition, who has the ability to phase right through walls doesn't count as crazy, then I don't know what does," Mike answered fearfully as he finally lowered his gun, while keeping his eyes locked on the woman appearing to be in charge, his partner following suit. "I never saw anything like it. That's all we saw. He spoke with your friend's accent, saying something about Mrs. Allgood not being as good as she appeared to be, but that wasn't why he killed her. Then, he ran right at that wall right behind you and passed right through it like nothing was there."

The other officer added, "Neither one of us could see his face. It was dark and he was dressed just as Mike said."

Cassandra looked between her friends, then back at the guards as she replied, "We do believe you. We appreciate you telling us the truth."

"I promise you that we'll find out the truth of what happened here last night," Eve said with assurance. I have one more question. Did the emerald necklace that was stolen have more than just price value to Mrs. Allgood?"

"We know that it was her most prized possession and that that necklace is the reason why we were both hired on," Dennis responded. "To make sure that no one could break in steal it, not to protect her. She was almost paranoid to its protection, at least until last week when the surveillance equipment failed. She wouldn't pay to have it fixed, acted as though protection no longer mattered. It was strange."

Ezekiel grinned like the Cheshire cat as he spoke up again saying, "It looks like I've got some research to do on that emerald necklace."

Jake glared at him, then specified, "So long as it's to find out why the killer broke in to steal it and not to scope the black market for its street value. Let's get out of here."


	3. Chapter 3

Ezekiel Jones And the Silver Coin

Chapter Three

"So, how is it that you knew that the security guard was coming?" Cassandra asked Ezekiel as Librarians and their Guardian passed back through the portal into the Annex.

"It's a sixth sense I have," the young thief replied smugly. "Any good thief develops one."

Jake growled and then responded, "Yeah, you just heard the guy coming before any of us did because you were closest to the door he came through, or because you heard his radio or footsteps, or something."

Ezekiel shook his head as he retorted, "Nope, sixth sense."

"Jones, do you happen to know anyone else from where you're from, with your accent, who might be capable of doing this, provided of course that whatever magic is being used isn't responsible for his criminal behavior?" Baird asked in order to try to refocus her charges.

"Why, because all of us thieves must know each other, like we all belong to some kind of book club or something where we all get together to brag about our scores and our big heists, right?" the thief asked with contempt in his voice.

Eve quickly answered, "No, of course not. I just wondered if you might. I know that you're not involved in any way, but I can't help, but think it's strange that our murdering thief has an accent similar to yours."

Ezekiel scoffed and replied, "I hate to break it to you, Baird, but Australia's huge, an entire continent huge. Look, I don't know. There were plenty of thieves from where I was from over there and most of them were plenty capable of this. Why do you think I left? I didn't know any of them personally because I made it a point not to get to know them, unless it was to scout out my competition."

"I'm sorry, I had to ask," Eve responded sincerely as she patted his arm.

"So, we're still no closer to finding out who he is, or what magical artifact it is that we're looking for," Jake stated in frustration. "That's just great."

Jenkins walked into the room and answered, "That's too bad because while you all were out, our killer struck again. And this time, it was a twenty year old male by the name of Kyle Renner, also from Dublin. The clipping book wasn't very clear on the details, but it did mention that the young man's girlfriend had witnessed the murder. She is currently in the hospital, having fainted after watching her boyfriend get stabbed multiple times. I suggest you go talk to her."

As she looked between Jenkins, Jake, and Ezekiel, Baird replied, "Cassandra and I will go and talk to her, while you boys stay here and search the books. See if you can't find out what kind of artifact it is we're dealing with. We know that it gives its possessor the ability to phase through walls and that it possibly makes them become psychopaths. Start with that."

"That's like asking us to search for a needle in a pile of needles!" Jones objected in frustration.

"The term is a needle in a haystack," Stone grumbled.

Ezekiel smiled as he responded, "Not the way I heard it, mate. I'm going for coffee. Do any of you want one too? It's not like I'm buying."

Jake quickly pulled out his wallet, then ran after the thief as he shouted, "Because you stole all of my cash again. Damn it, Jones!"

"Thank you very much, Miss. Baird, for delegating me to watch over them two," Jenkins said mockingly as he glared at the Guardian. "Best of luck on getting your witness to talk."

"She's in shock right now," Cassandra answered as she walked toward the portal again and prepared to step through. "It shouldn't take too much prodding to get her to open up about the truth of what she saw."

Eve shrugged, then replied, "Hey, I don't see either one of them being the right fit in questioning the girlfriend, do you? They're not exactly sympathetic."

Cassandra nodded in agreement and responded, "No, definitely not. Have fun, Jenkins."

"Yeah right," the Caretaker answered in frustration as Cassandra passed through the portal again. "Oh, and try to get some information that's helpful this time."

"We'll do our best!" Baird called out as she followed after one of her charges.

Meanwhile…

The killer arrived back at the apartment where he was currently residing so long as he remained in Dublin and when he did, he immediately took off his coat and pulled his hoodie up over his head along with his shirt and tossed them onto the twin bed tucked into the corner of the room, then he walked into the bathroom to take the first aid kit out from the cupboard beneath the sink.

He walked back out and sat down on his bed, then began to stitch up a bullet wound that barely grazed his side without so much as a swig of alcohol to help dull the pain. The alcohol and no medication was needed, as he didn't feel pain any longer, or anything else. He hadn't for almost year now, ever since he found his own most prized possession that at first he had been afraid of, until he came to understand its power.

Once he finished, the man who recently murdered two people within hours of each other put away the first aid kit pulled out his cell phone and dialed the number belonging to the person who hired him to steal the emerald necklace and murder Kitty Allgood, then waited for them to answer. When the other end of the line didn't pick up, the killer didn't even bother leaving a message as he hung up, tucked it back into his pocket, picked up his coat to put it back on, then left the room again to go to dinner as if he was like everyone else, and not worried about getting caught.


	4. Chapter 4

Ezekiel Jones And the Silver Coin

Chapter Four

Inside the hospital…

The young woman who had been hospitalized after witnessing someone, or rather something, brutally murder her boyfriend, was lying in bed on her side while she stared off at the wall. After awhile, Eve and Cassandra quietly walked into the room and as they did, the woman became startled as she sat up as far against the bed board as possible.

Eve quickly spoke up saying, "It's okay, Julia. You're alright. I promise you that were not here to hurt you. My name's Eve and my friend's name is Cassandra."

The witness looked between them nervously as she asked, "What do you want? You don't look like the nurses around here, or even cops for that matter. How did you know my name?"

"That's because we're not," Cassandra responded cheerfully. "We're actually…"

"We're not detectives or cops, but we are here to investigate what happened to your boyfriend, so that we can find the man who killed him," Eve interrupted her charge as she replied with sincerity and patience in order to try to calm her and gain her trust. "We just want to help, I promise. Can you tell us what happened, or who you saw?"

As tears formed in her eyes and she began to cry, Julia finally opened up as she answered, "It was terrible. This, thing stabbed Nick, my boyfriend, over and over again and I couldn't move. I didn't even scream, I couldn't even breathe. I was terrified. I can't believe I couldn't help him."

The Guardian gently placed her hand over Julia's as she responded sympathetically, "There would have been nothing you could have done. Whoever killed Nick, would have probably killed you too if you tried to get in his way. Be happy to still be alive. There is nothing wrong with feeling grateful for that."

"Thank you," the young woman responded again.

"Did you see his face?" Eve continued to ask. "Or do you know if there was a reason why this killer would have wanted your boyfriend dead?"

Julia shook her head as she quickly replied, "No! Nick never hurt anybody. He was a good guy. He told me last night that he loved me and I froze. I couldn't tell him then, but tonight I went to see him, to tell him that I did love him, but…"

When she cut off, Cassandra answered sadly, "I'm so sorry, Julia. For what it's worth, I am sure he knew. People who are truly in love always know."

"Thank you," the young woman responded softly. "I didn't see his face. It was like he was a… a…"

"Like he was a shadow?" Eve finished for her.

Julia nodded and replied, "Exactly. After he finished killing Nick, he vanished through the wall like it wasn't even there, just kind of shimmered through it. Actually, there was one thing that was strange, other the way he disappeared I mean. When he finished stab… When he was done, he wiped Nick's blood off of the blade and placed it back inside his coat pocket, then he pulled out something small from one of the pockets in his pants and flipped it through the air a couple of times before returning it again. It looked like some kind of coin, or something like that."

Colonel Baird smiled as she patted the woman's leg reassuringly and answered, "Thank you, Julia. You have just helped us out more than you know. I promise you, we will do everything we can to find the man that killed Nick."

"Thank you!" she called out as both investigators quickly left the room.

Meanwhile, inside the Annex…

"Would you just concentrate on the task at hand and quit going on and on with your way over exaggerated stories!" Jake shouted angrily, having gotten fed up with listening to Ezekiel go on and on what an incredible thief he was. "How long can you possibly keep talking about yourself?"

Jenkins glared at Stone as he cut in quickly, "Oh, please don't tempt him."

Ezekiel smiled smugly as he responded smugly, "I told you, I can probably go forever and for your information, I never exaggerate. Have you found anything useful yourself?"

"No, unfortunately I haven't," Jake replied as he skimmed through another book and finally pushed it aside like he did with the piles of other books on the table before them in frustration after not seeing anything of worth to them right then. "If the artifact this killer is using to disappear is in here, then I'm not finding it."

"Unfortunately, I think you might be right," Jenkins answered as he found an entry about a feather that allowed people to phase through solid objects, but that also had morphing capabilities as well. "There are simply too many similar artifacts, but not enough information to help us narrow down our search."

All of a sudden the doors to the portal leading into the Annex opened up and Eve quickly exclaimed, "I think that we might know what the artifact might be! Does some kind of coin ring a bell?"

The Library's Caretaker smiled as he suddenly sifted through the books until he found the one he was looking for and then responded, "In fact, it does. I believe that all of you have heard of the Artful Dodger? Even you, Ezekiel, must know who he is, seeing as he is one of the most famous thieves who ever lived."

"Ah yes, I have heard of the Dodger and he didn't actually live," Jones replied quizzically.

"On the contrary," Jenkins stated haughtily as he smirked. "Jack Dawkins was very real indeed and was in fact, very close friends with Mr. Charles Dickens himself."

Ezekiel scoffed and then asked, "So, if they were such good friends, why didn't old Chuck write about the Dodger's superpowers, which I'm assuming he had, seeing as you brought all this up? Why just describe his skill as a pickpocket alone? It's not like Dicken's never wrote fiction that had hocus pocus in it. A Christmas Carol was fictional, right?"

Jenkins sighed and looked at their team's master thief as he answered in exasperation, "Of course a Christmas Story was fictional, but it didn't have anything to do with magic, only spirits and apparitions. And I know that they were good friends because I met with them both once for tea."

"You had tea with Charles Dickens and the Artful Dodger?" Jake asked excitedly. "That is so awesome!"

"I don't think that having tea and cakes qualifies as awesome," Ezekiel responded sarcastically.

Jenkins cleared his throat to gain everyone's attention again, then he continued, "As I was saying, the reason why Oliver Twist didn't mention anything about Jack Dawkin's superpowers, as Jones so delicately called it, was because the magic would not have fit the story. Also, Charles didn't know anything about what more Jack could do because Jack never told him until he was on his deathbed. The artifact that we're looking for is a silver coin that allows it's possessor to phase whatever part of their body he wants to at will, as well as any object he or she touches as they will it. This silver coin also changes their appearance by making them appear as nothing more than a…"

Cassandra swiftly interrupted, "A shadow!"

"Exactly," Jenkins replied. "Making this coin's possessor, the perfect thief. I can't believe that I didn't think of the Artful Dodger's silver coin before. However, it also has negative side effects to go with the positives. You see, when he was twelve years old, he somehow ended up losing the coin, after which he was caught and sent to prison when he attempted to steal the crown jewels. The coin may have given Jack a big head too, now that I think about it. I mean, going after the crown jewels was crazy, even for him. Anyway, Dawkins was incredibly skilled, more so than any other thief to have ever lived, even without the power of the coin, but once it was in his possession, he couldn't let go of it. He lived in prison until he was sixteen years old, when he died of consumption. Dickens visited him just before and Dawkins told him everything, but by then, Oliver Twist had already been written. As I mentioned, it wouldn't have made sense to include magic into the novel."

"So, Jack Dawkins used this silver coin to become what he thought was a better thief until he somehow lost it," Ezekiel finally spoke up again. "But did the Dodger actually lose it, or was it stolen from him?"

Jake shrugged as he said, "Jones makes a good point."

Jenkins nodded in agreement as he answered, "I don't know what happened and neither did Dawkins, at least according to Charles. I think that it's probably safe to say that was indeed stolen from him. Now someone else has this artifact and is using it for more than just to be a simple thief. He's using it to kill people as well. I'd say that it's probable that this silver coin does indeed have more than one price to pay."

"Could this thief, if the coin really was stolen that is, be the same person who may have stolen it away from Jack Dawkins centuries ago?" Cassandra asked curiously.

"It's possible," Jenkins stated. "At least we know now what artifact we're looking for. Now we just need to figure out who our murderous thief is and why he's killing these specific people."


	5. Chapter 5

Ezekiel Jones And the Silver Coin

Chapter Five

Inside a small pub in the middle of the city, Davin McRaney sat in a booth in the far back corner of the room while he waited for someone to join him. Over an hour passed and finally, a second person took a seat across from him. Before either spoke to one another, the one and only waitress who worked there quickly set down two pints in front of them, then walked away to leave them to their business.

Davin glared at the woman before him and finally said coldly, "You do realize that I have other work to do besides the work you hired me to do? I told you when we first met, I don't like to be kept waiting."

The woman took a sip of her beer, then she answered, "And I am paying you more than just a generous amount of money for your services to me, so I think that you can handle waiting for me. I would like to see it."

"You know that won't happen until you make good on your end of our bargain," he responded and then gulped down half of the glass. "You told me when you first came to me that you could find anyone, Regina. And so far, you've been unsuccessful."

"I haven't given up yet," she replied curtly. "Besides, the deadline hasn't passed. I've still got another week. As a reminder to you, you do still have one more item to collect for me as well. Kitty Allgood's emerald necklace isn't the only thing of worth to me. Two million is a lot of money, but with the ring too, they will be worth at least three times that. I suggest you get to searching for the ring. And by the way, was it really necessary to kill your partner?"

Davin stood up from the table, finished drinking the rest of his pint, then slammed the glass back down on the table and answered, "Nick didn't leave me much of a choice. He was going soft. He wanted out so that he could go straight, for his girlfriend. I wasn't about to risk him telling anyone about what he saw or didn't see for the time we spent working together. I prefer to work alone. The only reason why I let him work for me was because I owed him a favor."

Regina glared up at the man she hired to do the jobs for her as she responded, "Killing him was your way of making good on that favor? Look, all I'm saying is that if you keep dropping bodies, eventually you will be found out and arrested for murder, as will I. I won't go to prison for you or anyone because you've become a loose cannon. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

"Of course I do," the thief replied cruelly as he chillingly leaned down over his employer in order to scare her. "Just do what I need you to do for me and I'll make sure that you are protected, but let me warn you right now, Regina. If there is anything you should be worried about, it isn't that you might end up behind bars. If things do go bad between us, I will kill you like I've done to the others. How is that for clarity?"

"You're not the same, cocky young man I met four years ago when I caught you trying to steal the wallet from my father's pocket," the woman answered nervously as she looked up at the man standing over her with fear in her eyes upon seeing the darkness in his. "What happened to you?"

He stood straight once again and responded smugly, "I was given a gift that made me a better thief than I ever could have imagined. Goodnight, Mrs. Hennessy. Try not to be late next time."

As he walked out of the pub, leaving her to pick up the tab for their drinks, Regina stared after the younger man, still in shock from the coldness in the tone of his voice, then she whispered softly to herself, "I made a big mistake."


	6. Chapter 6

Ezekiel Jones And the Silver Coin

Chapter Six

"So, what exactly are we doing now?" Ezekiel asked as he and the other Librarians, as well as their Guardian, left the Annex once again and walked along the streets in downtown Dublin.

"We're walking the streets in search of anything bizarre," Colonel Baird replied as she stopped to observe a couple arguing outside of a bakery for a few minutes, then quickly ran to catch up to the rest of her friends, as they had continued on ahead of her. "It's a longshot I know, but for now, it's really all we can do until the clipping book leads us to the next crime."

Cassandra spoke up asking, "And even if our books do lead us to another murder victim, how does that help us get any closer to finding out who the killer is? We're always too late. For once, I would like to save someone before this psycho can kill them. I don't want to see another body."

Jake nodded in agreement and then answered, "Maybe we'll get lucky. Thankfully, Jenkins gave us a bit of magic of our own to help us locate other magic, at least if we're within thirty feet of any."

"And you didn't think to tell us that?" the team's thief asked in frustration.

"I just did," Stone responded as he grinned at his friend, despite how often Jones annoyed him.

Eve reached out to take the small artifact from the genius as she looked at it more closely and stated, "Exactly what is this tiny toy top supposed to do when it comes into contact with magic?"

Ezekiel suddenly snatched it from her hands as well, as he pulled out a pocket watch from his pocket and watched as the top began to spin wildly, then he replied, "Exactly what any tiny toy top does; it spins."

"How did you… Never mind," Jake scoffed as he took back the top again and the timepiece that Jenkins always kept upon himself. "Why did you steal this?"

"Why not?" the thief answered with a grin. "Because I can. Look, I noticed that the clasp on the chain was broken. I figured I would repair it before the old grump could lose it and then blame me for stealing it."

Stone cried out in exasperation, "But you did steal it!"

Cassandra let out a quiet chuckle until she quickly cut herself off as Eve responded curtly, "All right, that's enough you two? Boy, you are at each other's throats today. What is going on with you?"

Jake replied, "Jones is acting even more annoying than usual. I didn't think it was possible."

"Uh… guys?" Cassandra spoke up nervously as she was staring at something across the street.

"You haven't seen how annoying I can be!" Ezekiel shouted back, seeming to ignore the mathematician for the moment.

She tried to get their attention once again, calling out to them even louder than before saying, "Guys! I think I might have just found our killer."

Baird looked toward where Cassandra was pointing as she asked, "What are you talking about? I don't see anything?"

"That's because he already disappeared inside that house!" the younger woman answered she rushed across the street, followed quickly by the others. "He phased right through the side of the house just like our witnesses all described. Gee, finding him was easier than I thought it was going to be."

"There aren't any lights on," Jake said as they reached the porched and looked through the windows to see if they could see anything. "Whoever lives here must not be home."

Eve pulled out her gun as she moved to stand in front of the door, prepared to kick it in as she responded, "Thank goodness for small miracles."

Ezekiel stopped her as he stated forcefully, "Don't! This place has a security system. You break in the door, the alarms will go off and the police will be here in no time. It's best if I deactivate it first. Best not to risk anyone unnecessarily getting killed, don't you think?"

"Good thinking," their Guardian replied as she and the others watched the thief disconnected the security system within a few seconds, then move to the front door to pick the locks in hope to avoid any extra noise so that the neighbors would hopefully not notice them breaking in. "Once we're inside, be careful guys. We have no idea what else this psycho is capable of."

"Done!" Jones exclaimed softly, then turned the knob to open the door, waiting until everyone else was inside before following after them. "This place is even bigger that the last lady's home. This guy knows how to pick his targets, I'll give him that."

They all made their way toward the living room, where they found a man dressed in all black with a baseball cap pulled down low to cover his eyes as much as possible, as he was breaking into a large safe hidden behind an even larger painting, using the magical artifact to phase his hand inside the safe to get to the tumbler.

Before he could get in, Colonel Baird suddenly shouted out, "Hey! I suggest you stop what you're doing and raise your hands high, or I'll put a bullet right between your eyes. It seems a fitting end for a murderer like yourself, don't you think?"

It was then that the man's appearance became distorted, just as the Librarians expected of him, and he answered with a very similar accent to Ezekiel's like the witnesses had said, "I don't know who you are, or how you came to find me, but go ahead and try shooting me. You'll find you won't be able to."

"Right, because so long as you carry that silver coin you came into possession of however long ago it was, you think you're invincible," Ezekiel answered mockingly. "Well I've got news for you. We Librarians always manage to find a way to stop power hungry psychopaths like you."

"How did… Liam?" the shadowed figure asked in confusion as he stared at the Australian quizzically.

Upon hearing the monster before them mention that name, Ezekiel stumbled backwards as his friends looked at him worryingly, while Eve kept her gun trained on the killer until all of a sudden, he phased straight through the wall closest to him before the agent could get a single shot off.

Jake cried out angrily, "Damn it, we had him! What the hell just happened? We're never going to find him again!"

Cassandra stated nervously, "Of course we will."

"Jones?" Eve whispered as she looked at him with concern on her face while she placed her hands on his arms to turn him to face her in order to get him to look at her. "Ezekiel, what's wrong?"

"Did you recognize him?" Cassandra asked worryingly, having noticed the younger man's frightening change in demeanor as well. "It's okay that he got away. I mean, we'll find him. We always find what we're looking for, don't we?"

Their Guardian continued to try to coax Ezekiel into speaking to her as she said, "You can talk to us, about anything. Does the name Liam mean something to you?"

The youngest member of their team finally spoke, stuttering as he responded, "I can't… I can't be here. He can't…"


	7. Chapter 7

Ezekiel Jones And the Silver Coin

Chapter Seven

After she met up with the thief that she hired to find Mrs. Kitty Allgood's emerald necklace and an emerald ring currently in the possession of a wealthy, prominent citizen, whose father was the former mayor of Dublin years before, Miss. Eileen Teagan, Regina Hennessy had her chauffeur drive her through the city until they reached a rundown apartment building. She had her driver stop and let her out, then she walked inside and down the first floor hallway, then finally knocked when she came to the door belonging to the apartment of the person she had come to see.

The resident of the apartment finally opened the door after Regina persisted in knocking, surprised to find the woman he thought he had once been in love with some time ago until Regina had betrayed him for money. It didn't take long for them both to realize they were better off apart.

The woman spoke up first saying curtly, "The years haven't exactly been too kind, have they, Carlyle?"

He turned his back to her as he motioned for her to follow him inside, then responded in frustration, "I never expected I'd see you again, Regina. After all, you've gotten your millions and I'm nothing, but a thief and contract killer, who's been out of work ever since I got sent to prison for that robbery you hired me for years ago. I would have thought you would have lost my address by now."

"And I would have thought you would have moved after you got out," she answered nervously. "Look, we both know that I didn't come here for pleasantries. I need you to do a job for me."

"Do you really think I would help you with something after you let me take the fall for the job you hired me for the last time?" the man asked coolly as he faced her once again and took a seat in the recliner, not bothering to offer her a seat on the only other piece of furniture besides the small table inside the flat; his bed. "If that's what you've really come here for, you can just walk right back out the door. I learned my lesson."

Regina sat down on the end of his bed despite him telling her to leave, then looked at him as she replied gently, "I know that what I did to you was wrong and for what it's worth, I am sorry. Thieves have a code of honor and I forgot that. Believe me, I wouldn't have come to you if I thought I had any other choice, but I don't. I need you to steal a few pieces of jewelry from the first thief I hired and then I need you to kill him. He's young, but he's good; frighteningly so."

Carlyle looked at him in confusion as he asked, "So, you're betraying him too and you think that I would actually agree to help you? Get the hell out of here!"

"You don't understand, I can't do that," she responded in anger. "This guy is dangerous. I have it on good authority that he's going to become out of control before too long and that he'll either let me take the fall for his crimes, or worse, kill me too. If I knew anyone else… I don't. I can pay you whatever price you want, so long as I get the jewelry and Davin McRaney dies."

"Davin McRaney, that's the thief you hired?" the man asked in surprise. "Why… Are you crazy? McRaney is well known in our world, not by face, but certainly by reputation. He may be the best of us, but he's a sociopath. If you do double cross him, he will most definitely kill you."

The woman nodded as she said, "Which is why I need you to kill him first, before he can come and kill me. I wasn't planning on betraying Davin. I don't want to kill him. I was going to pay him the price he asked for in exchange for the jewelry, but it turns out that I can't find anybody like I thought."

He scoffed and then stated, "I'm confused. What are you talking about?"

"He wants me to use my resources to track down some kid from his past," Regina answered in frustration. "I did everything I could, but this kid is a ghost. It's as if he never even existed. I have another week, but I don't know what more I can do. I've run out of sources. He'll kill me, Carlyle. I am begging you to help me, please."

"I'll do it, but only because I can't live in this dump any longer and I'm tired of having nothing to show for my skills," Carlyle finally replied after taking a few minutes to think about what this woman was asking him to do. "But know that I'm not doing this for you, not in the least. I wouldn't care if you died. I want four million dollars, one million for the heist and three million for killing Davin McRaney. You know how dangerous he is. If I'm going to risk my life going after him, I want enough money to make it worth it."

She glared at him as she responded coldly, "Fine, four million dollars it is. Do you want that in writing, or will my word be enough for you?"

The man shook his head and answered, "A signed contract from you means absolutely nothing."

"I don't understand," Regina said nervously. "What does that mean? I know that you don't intend to do the job without some form of reassurance?"

"That's right, I don't," he replied smugly. "But I have something better in mind. I'll have the jewelry in my possession. If you want whatever these pieces are from me, you will pay me every penny. Otherwise, I'll become a ghost just like that kid you failed to find. You know that I can, if I really want to."


	8. Chapter 8

Ezekiel Jones And the Silver Coin

Chapter Eight

"So, are you finally going to tell us what's going on, or are we really going to have to ask your friend after we find him again?" Jake asked callously as he glared at the youngest member of their team once they all arrived back inside the Annex, noticing thief's obvious distress, but not quite seeing the fear that Ezekiel was trying hard to hide as he stood with his back to the others while trying to grasp the reality of coming into contact again with someone from his past. "Jones! Talk to us, man!"

"I can't!" their own thief answered angrily, as Jake's demeanor softened and Cassandra jumped at Ezekiel's sudden outburst. "You won't… I don't know how I can even begin to get you to understand. I swore to myself a long time ago that I wouldn't ever talk about him, or about what happened between us, to anyone. I can't change that, even for you. And that name you heard, it means nothing."

Eve quickly reached out to grab Ezekiel's arm as he began to walk away until she stopped him, then gently turned him around to face her again and replied, "Hey, whatever it is you've been holding inside of you all this time, it can't be so bad that you can't talk to us about it. We're your friends, Ezekiel. You said so yourself. We take care of each other."

He shook his head in frustration as he pulled away from her embrace and then responded in dejection, "I told you, you wouldn't understand. I helped create him. I didn't know it until tonight, but these deaths, are on me. As are any more that happen until I can stop him."

"There are a lot of things that are your fault, Mr. Jones," Jenkins retorted as he walked inside the main room of the Library, having listened to their conversation from the doorway. "The deaths of our killer's two victims certainly isn't, no matter what it is you seem to think you've done. And if you are referring to your brother, his sins are not yours."

"Ho… how did you…?" the younger man stuttered in confusion and anger. "No one knows about him, let alone the things that happened between us all those years ago! You couldn't possibly…"

Jenkins interrupted as he calmly answered, "I don't know all of the details, but as Caretaker, it is necessary for me to learn about whom the Library chooses, so that hopefully we won't have another situation like the trouble Flynn's predecessor caused. I don't really want to be the one to tell them, because it should be you. That way, you four can work together to stop him in a way that is best for everyone. The three of you are Librarians for good reason, even if you don't know it or understand why."

Ezekiel scoffed and looked between the people he considered his friends, despite what he told everyone, then he replied, "You're wrong. I'm no Librarian, only a fool for thinking that I could be. Tell them if you have to. I don't care. I have to go. I promise you, I will find a way to stop him and get the magic coin back to where it belongs."

"No Ezekiel, please don't leave," Cassandra pleaded as she moved in front of him in hope of trying to convince him to stay. "You can't think that you're not worthy of being one of us."

"Sorry mates, but Ezekiel Jones is a thief and nothing more," he responded as he easily stepped around the mathematician and walked out, leaving the other two Librarians, their Guardian, and the Caretaker behind as they struggled to comes to terms with what just happened.

Jake finally spoke again saying worryingly, "He didn't even refer to himself as 'all awesome' like he does every other day. Jenkins, you've got to tell us what you know. I know it's wrong to have anyone else explain, but seeing as he won't…"

The agent side of Baird nodded in agreement as she answered, "Stone's right. We need to understand why Ezekiel's doing this. Did you say that his brother is involved?"

"I didn't even know he had a brother, or any other family for that matter," Cassandra added sadly. "I was always under the impression that he was all alone, an only child who lost his parents a long time ago."

"You were almost right," Jenkins replied despondently as he leaned back against the edge of the table they were all surrounding. "He does have a brother; older I believe. And by the way, his name isn't really Ezekiel Jones. That was the reason why I had a harder time trying to find any information for him out of each of you. His real name is Liam Chase."

It was then that everyone finally started to understand why their friend's cocky, happy go lucky appearance had changed so drastically as Jake said out of worry, "Our killer, he's Ezekiel's brother."

The Caretaker nodded as he responded, "If he called our young friend by his real name, then I'm afraid so."

"What could have possibly happened between them that caused one brother to become a Librarian and our friend, and the other brother to become an evil psychopath?" Cassandra asked rhetorically.

"As I said, I don't know the details," Jenkins answered. "In fact, I know very little of what happened. Ezekiel's brother currently goes by the name of Davin McRaney. Why he chose a name that's Irish, even though he obviously hasn't tried to rid himself of his Australian accent, I don't know. The point is, his real name is Levi Chase. The two of them were close and were partners in their many heists until Levi was one day arrested and sent to prison, for not only robbery and forgery, but for attempted murder as well."

Eve looked at the older man in disbelief as she asked, "You're saying that Ezekiel's brother might have tried to kill him?"

Cassandra gasped and Jenkins nodded sadly as he replied, "Quite possibly, but Levi was actually arrested for nearly killing a former senator and his family in his attempt to steal some lost painting that once was in Hitler's possession until he died, worth a few years ago, around two hundred million dollars. Needless to say, he failed, all thanks to an anonymous tip that led the police to the senator's mansion just in the nick of time to save him and his family."

"Jones had to have been the caller," Jake responded again. "He couldn't talk Levi out of whatever scheme he had planned, so he stopped his brother the only way that he could. Then, Levi must have escaped prison after somehow gaining possession of Dawkins' coin. And now he's found Ezekiel again, or rather he knows that his brother is around. Ezekiel changed his name for a reason and my gut's telling me that it isn't just because every good thief changes his name. Levi might try to hurt him again. We need to find both Jones and his brother before anything happens to him."

"We need to begin with figuring out just who Levi Chase really is," Baird stated firmly. "And we can start by going to the police who arrested Jones' brother however long ago all this occurred. Maybe by learning about his past, we can figure out what he has planned now and stop him before he can kill anyone else, including Ezekiel."


	9. Chapter 9

Ezekiel Jones And the Silver Coin

Chapter Nine

"So this is where Jenkins said Jones grew up?" Jake asked as he looked around the poorest and most rundown area inside Melbourne, Australia. "It's no wonder he and his bro… our killer took to thieving."

"Ezekiel must have had nothing," Cassandra replied sadly. "I mean, they grew up without parents. What happened to them?"

It was then that a familiar and unexpected voice sounded from behind them responding, "It was a typical, yet tragic car accident."

They spun around quickly and were surprised to see their leader, Flynn Carson, as Baird stared at him while she asked, "What are you doing here, not that I'm not happy to see you?"

"Jenkins called and mentioned that you could use my help, seeing as you're now one Librarian down," their old friend answered sadly. "I am sorry about Ezekiel by the way. I'm sure he'll come around, that is if we can actually help him here by finding and stopping his brother. And to finish answering your earlier question, it was a drunk driver who hit their car head on, killing Jones' parents instantly, while Levi Chase, or Connor Melville, or Davin McRaney, or whatever his name happens to be by the time we catch up to him, somehow managed to survive. Luckily for Ezekiel, he wasn't with them at the time of the accident. Actually, I'm not really sure that qualifies as lucky."

"You know about Ezekiel's past?" Eve asked again sadly, to which he simply nodded. "Any more than what Jenkins knows?"

Flynn shook his head this time as he replied, "No, I'm afraid not. You three are an open book, pretty easy to learn about, but with Jones, not so much. Jenkins told me you were coming here to talk to the police who arrested his brother, in hope of finding out the details as to what happened that night? It's a good plan."

The Colonel smiled as she responded, "That's why I thought of it. According to my phone, the police station is not far from here."

"This doesn't feel right," Cassandra said nervously as she followed behind the others as they walked on ahead. "Looking into Ezekiel's past like this I mean. It feels wrong."

"I know what you mean, but if we're going to help him, we have to learn as much as we can about what brought him to this point," Jake answered with reluctance.

Nearly fifteen minutes later, the Librarians and their Guardian were sitting inside the constable's office and as the man before them took a seat at his desk, he looked at the strangers in confusion as he asked, "So, I was told that you four are here to talk to me about an old case involving Liam Chase. Is that right?"

Flynn nodded as he responded, "Yes Sir, that's right. He's a friend of ours and we have it under good authority that he's in trouble."

"It's no wonder, that kid's a real trouble maker," the officer said coldly as he turned to his computer and got to work on pulling up the young thief's file. "Him and his brother both."

"Trouble or not, Jo… Liam Chase is still our friend and we want to help him," Stone answered gruffly.

The man scoffed and then responded, "Look, the Chase boys were wanted for numerous thefts a long time ago until the older one turned into something more than a petty thief and was eventually caught when he attempted to kill a few people. His younger brother, your friend, disappeared after that night and we haven't heard anything more about him since."

Flynn quickly spoke up again saying, "You see, that night is exactly why we're here. We want to know what really happened that night. How did Levi Chase escape from your prison?"

"Who exactly are you people?" the constable asked in frustration as he looked between the people before him. "You mentioned to one of my men that you were Librarians, but what does that mean? You don't have the authority here, I do."

"That's right, but I'm actually a colonel in the NATO agency," Eve quickly answered as she pulled out her old badge and ID, then showed them to the cop. "Liam has been helping me and my colleagues out on a case we've been working on for over a year now, but he has recently disappeared and we believe his disappearance has something to do with his brother. That's why we've come. We need to find them. Can you help us?"

The officer finally conceded as he replied, "I'll tell you what I can. Your friend's brother was arrested six years ago when he attempted to kill a former senator living here in Melbourne. Liam was sixteen at the time and from what I understood, the kid has been thieving ever since his parents died when he was only four years old, thanks to Levi's poor influence. We knew that the older one was going to become more dangerous, which is why he eventually became one of our most wanted, and we were worried that Liam would only following his brother's footsteps, but it turns out we were wrong about that. I received a tip from an anonymous caller that led me and my men right to Levi and we were able to save the family before much harm could come to them. I don't know for sure, but I'm willing to stake my life on it that the caller was Liam. The kid was a troublemaker and I didn't hold out much hope that he'd amount to anything more than the criminal he was, but I did realize then that he was a better person than his brother. If he's working for you now, then I guess I was wrong."

Cassandra quickly responded, "Most definitely wrong. He's still a thief, but in the best way possible."

"What about Levi's escape from prison?" Jake asked again. "How'd he get out?"

"That I couldn't tell you," the man answered reluctantly. "I'd say it was impossible and yet somehow he did it. One night my men put him back inside his cell and locked the cell's door and by morning he was just gone. There were no tunnels, no break outs, no one helped him to escape, the cell door was never tampered with… Chase was simply not anywhere to be found. It's the biggest mystery of my career, that will sadly never be solved."

Baird looked down at Flynn as she replied quietly so that he and the other two Librarians could hear her, "He was obviously given the coin some time while he was incarcerated here and then used it to escape once he figured out its power, or was told of its power. The question is, how did he get a hold of it, or who would have given up the power to give it to a thief capable of murder?"

Jake responded, "That's not the only question. Constable Higgins, while Levi was imprisoned, for however long he was here for, did he ever once mention anything to you about his brother? About maybe wanting to hurt him if he got out?"

"On more than one occasion, unfortunately," the officer answered sadly as he clicked a few buttons on his computer, pulled a pile of papers from the printer after having printed them off, then handed them up to the NATO agent. "Your friend's entire file, as well as his brother's. I don't know what good they will do you now, but I hope they can help. Good luck."

"I'm not sure what good that meeting really was, seeing as we already speculated most of what the constable told us, but maybe these files can help us," Flynn stated after they walked out of the office and made their way back outside. "And now we do know for sure that if Ezekiel finds his brother, there's a very real possibility that Levi will kill him. Hopefully Jenkins will have had some luck trying to locate Ezekiel for us. Thankfully, we've got some magic on our side too."


	10. Chapter 10

Ezekiel Jones And the Silver Coin

Chapter Ten

Ezekiel cautiously made his way through the crowds of people gathered inside Dublin's Natural History Museum, then stopped in front of one of its most valuable displays, a rare emerald ring, the green gem surrounded by diamonds, with a twenty-four karat gold band. To anyone who might be looking at the Australian, it would seem that he was admiring the ring, which if he was still a Librarian investigating any other case he would be, but the truth of the matter was, Ezekiel was simply waiting.

The wait wasn't long before a second individual joined him as he stood on the opposite side of the well protected display case the ring was secured in, then the newcomer spoke up first saying, "I had a feeling that you would be here. It's nice to see that some things don't ever change. You haven't lost your skills over the years."

The former Librarian looked down ashamedly for a few moments, then glanced back at him and responded, "Nor have you. Why are you doing this, Levi?"

"Exactly what is it you think I've been doing?" the killer asked in reply as he began to walk slowly around the display in order to inspect its security, catching glances here and there at the younger man, noticing his obvious distress.

"Your plan is to steal this ring," Ezekiel answered as he too circled the display to keep out of the other's reach while glancing away to observe the other people within the same room in order to make sure they were still free to speak openly as they were. "I did some research to find you, starting with why you might have chosen to break into that place in particular. I discovered that you were at the mansion last night to steal the key, which would grant you access of these security measures. The curator of this museum lives there. Sadly, I screwed up when I heard you call me by my real name, which allowed you to succeed in getting the passkey before you disappeared; I froze. I never expected to see you again."

Levi smiled and responded, "Come on, little brother. I did promise you that I would one day find you. We're thieves and you know better than anyone that it's never good for a thief to fall out of touch with their skills, or for one to grow soft. You are clearly still good at your job, but it's obvious that you don't do it for yourself anymore, which means you've come to care for people. Perhaps it's those who were with you at the mansion last night?"

The younger thief replied sadly, "I may have worked for those people once, but seeing you after all these years reminded me of who I really have to be. I can't let you continue on your crime spree. You're a murderer. And you've come into possession of something that you couldn't possibly begin to understand."

"How is it you know about the silver coin, Liam?" his brother asked coldly. "Who do you work for?"

"My name isn't Liam any longer and I believe I made it clear, I don't work for anyone anymore," Ezekiel answered boldly. "And how I know about the piece of silver that allows you to turn yourself into a shadow isn't any of your business. The point is I know and I can't let you use its magic to hurt anyone else."

The older man smiled as he responded smugly, "I hate to break it to you, kiddo, but you wouldn't have the guts to do what you have to do to stop me, not to mention the strength. I'm not just older than you. I'm stronger and far more skilled than you as well. I always was. I may not be able to kill you here because we're in public, but when I find you again…"

Ezekiel interrupted, "Blah… Blah… Blah… I'm a dead man, I know. You're a terrible cliché, you know that? I've always known you wanted to make me pay for sending you to prison. Why do you think I've changed my name so many times? I hoped you'd never find me and it would have worked, had it not been for magic interfering with our lives."

"I'll see you again soon, Liam, or whatever else it is you go by now," Levi said cruelly and then disappeared again through the crowd, leaving Ezekiel alone as he looked around him, then turned back to stare at the ring in front of him.

"That's just great," the former Librarian mumbled to himself. "A lot of good that chat did. How the hell am I going to stop him without any magic of my own?"

All of a sudden, Ezekiel felt the barrel end of a gun at the small of his back and immediately turned his head to get a look at whoever was pointing it at him as the man behind him stated quietly, "I suggest you listen to me very carefully and do exactly as I say, or you won't be the only casualty should you try to fight me. You're going to walk with me out of the museum and then we're going to meet up with an old associate of mine."

The Australian did as the man said, not wanting to risk anyone else getting hurt and once they were clear of the people, he looked at the man again as he asked, "Who are you and what could you possibly want with me?"

"It isn't actually you we want," he replied as he shoved Ezekiel inside the driver's side of a car parked down the street, then slid into the passenger's side while continuing to keep his gun trained on him. "I don't know who you are, but after observing you with Davin McRaney just now and now having heard your accent, it's obvious you two know each other pretty well and might even be related. Which is why this is necessary. I want McRaney dead and you're going to help me do that. Now drive."

"I'm afraid you're only wasting your time, mate," Ezekiel answered as he did like the man ordered. "If you're expecting McRaney, or whatever name he goes by now, to come to you just because you have me, you'll be sorry. Either he won't come and you'll just kill me because you realized I'm of no use to you, or he'll come and end up killing the both of us. He's dangerous and if you try to kill him, you will be the one who'll end up dead, I promise you."

The kidnapper scoffed and responded, "Nice try, kid. I suggest you just shut your mouth and keep driving where I tell you, otherwise you'll end up dead sooner than you'd like. Exactly what is your relation to Davin McRaney?"

The thief simply shook his head and then replied, "I thought you wanted me to shut my mouth?"

"You can be cocky with me all you want, but it won't help you once I get started later with my interrogation," he stated smugly. "How well do you deal with pain?"

"I'm stronger than I look," Ezekiel answered and then finally kept quiet, feeling too exhausted over all that's happened within only the last few hours to try to keep up his bravado any longer, a small part of him wishing that he hadn't been so quick to abandon his friends, despite the danger they would be in if they tried to help him.


	11. Chapter 11

Ezekiel Jones And the Silver Coin

Chapter Eleven

" _You did what?_ " Regina asked angrily over the phone, having called Carlyle in order to see how his progress was going so far even though it has only been less than a day since she hired him.

"For crying out loud, Regina, would you just calm down and trust that I know what I'm doing?" he answered in frustration, while Ezekiel continued to drive to wherever his kidnapper told him to go, pretending to ignore the conversation between the man and his associate. "You hired me for a job and I will get it done, but I'm going to do it my way. This kid is going to help me catch McRaney."

She asked again, " _Do you even know who he is yet? For all you know, they could just be rival thieves._ "

Carlyle responded, "They're thieves who seem to know each other pretty well, not to mention they're both Koreans with Australian accents. I am willing to bet that they're related somehow, perhaps even brothers. You know what, I really don't have to explain myself to you. Don't call me again. I'll be in touch with you when Davin's dead. I'm hanging up now."

"Change of plans, we're not going to meet up with my associate after all," the man stated again once he got off of the phone and turned to look over at the young man driving his car. "We're going to go someplace where we can talk in private and won't be disturbed."

"Where's your cockiness now, boy?" the man continued when Ezekiel didn't say a word. "I'll allow you to talk, as much as you would like to."

The young thief stared ahead while he replied quietly, "There's nothing for me to talk to you about."

The hitman chuckled as he answered, "Actually, you have a lot to talk to me about. And eventually you will. I want to know everything about you. Who you are and even more importantly, how you came to be involved with Davin McRaney."

"There's not much to tell," Ezekiel responded calmly, despite feeling anger building up inside the more this man spoke as he clenched his free hand into a fist. "I don't know any Davin McRaney, only who he was once. I'm a thief, nothing more. Before all of this happened, I would have told you that I'm the world's greatest thief, but… Look, if you want to know who I am to this psycho you're foolishly trying to kill, you will just have to ask him before he puts a bullet between your eyes, if you can. But he may not give you the chance. In fact, I'm willing to bet he won't. You don't know him like I do."

"I'm really starting to like you, kid," Carlyle replied smugly. "But you underestimate me."

Jones retorted, "Actually, you're overestimating yourself, mate."

Later that evening inside the Annex…

Both Jake and Cassandra were growing increasingly concerned about their friend, as the two of them started to pace back and forth around the table, trying to think of something else that would help them find the Australian. While Eve and Flynn were worried too, they were acting more levelheaded as they worked to try to get a location on either Ezekiel or Levi. So far, both thieves were invisible. It didn't surprise them, but the harder they looked, the more frustrated they became.

Baird finally stopped reading the older brother's file as she slammed it down in frustration on the table and said coolly, "Neither one of you are helping matters. You do realize that, don't you?"

"Don't think we don't know that!" Jake answered angrily as he glared back at the Colonel. "That fool is risking his life to protect us, again and we just let him go!"

"Jake's right," Cassandra responded in agreement. "He's acting foolishly, because it's his brother who's the monster and he feels responsible, but we have to reassure him that he doesn't have to fight him alone. He doesn't know that we care about him. At least not anymore he doesn't. He has no memory of us treating him with respect after the whole time loop, video game fiasco. He still thinks that we still think of him like he's irresponsible, like we don't believe he actually belongs here with us."

Flynn finally cut in as he replied, "You know, I couldn't actually believe that Ezekiel Jones of all people did all of that after Jenkins explained to me what happened on your last mission. I still can't wrap my head around it, but if you say he did all that…"

Eve nodded as she answered, "I promise you, it's true. I'm not sure I would have believed it either if I wasn't there, but I was. He was amazing. And he gave his life for us, so we're going to return the favor and protect him now whether he wants us to or not."

"But how are we going to find him when he knows how to disappear?" Jake asked again in frustration.

"We may not know where he is right at this moment, but I think I might know where we can start," Flynn spoke up again as he stared at the clipping book as its pages suddenly began to flip wildly until it finally stopped, ending on a new page the Librarians haven't seen before. "This article says that there's been a new murder involving Ezekiel's brother again."

Cassandra stuttered as she responded fearfully, "Plea… please, don't let it be…"

Eve gripped her gently by her shoulders to stop her as she replied, "Don't worry, it's not Ezekiel. He's still okay for now. The book would surely let us know if something's happened to him, all right?"

"Okay, so who is it this time?" Jake asked gruffly. "Who did Levi kill?"

"It looks like some hitman and thief by the name of Carlyle O'Brien," Flynn said with a sigh as he showed the others the article too. "Exactly what is a hitman's involvement in all this?"


	12. Chapter 12

Ezekiel Jones And the Silver Coin

Chapter Twelve

Meanwhile…

Ezekiel struggled against his bonds after having been tied to a chair by his kidnapper and then left alone in the basement of what appeared to be an old shack where it was apparent that a fire had nearly burnt it down a long time ago. The young thief remembered driving for over an hour outside of the city and into the country, but after that, everything was fuzzy. He didn't remember arriving at the shack, or anything that might have happened afterward, least of all being restrained. He also didn't know when he had been drugged or knocked unconscious, it being obvious that the hitman didn't want him to know exactly where he was.

Before he could slip free of his bindings, the man who brought him here returned as he walked down the rickety stairs, walked around the Australian, then took a seat in another chair across from him and stated coolly, "I'm glad you're awake. How are you feeling?"

The former Librarian glared at the man before him as he replied, "Just peachy. Exactly what… did you give me?"

"Only something to keep you under for a couple of hours," Carlyle answered smugly. "Something that will keep you groggy enough so that you won't be able to escape from me no matter what sort of tricks you know. Don't worry, it won't be long before Davin arrives. I knew that you wouldn't cooperate with me and tell me how to get into contact with him, so I leaked a few messages out to a few other criminals and thieves around, knowing that your brother would see it and come for you."

"You're making a mistake," Ezekiel responded weakly, trying to fight against the drugs in his system while he continued to struggle against the ropes keeping him in the chair. "I have to stop… him. He'll kill… kill…"

The hitman cut him off as he interrupted, "You didn't deny he was your brother. So it's true then?"

Another voice sounded from behind Carlyle as he spun around in surprise and saw what appeared to him as a shadow as it suddenly phased through the wall and said, "I'm afraid it is true, Carlyle O'Brien. Liam here is my little brother. And no one hurts him, but me."

"How did you…? What… what the hell are you?" the hitman stuttered as he quickly pulled out his gun and aimed it at the shadow figure, but backed away fearfully when he saw the creature moving toward him with a jagged dagger in its hand. "Stay back!"

"Levi, don… don't!" Ezekiel tried to object before his brother could kill the man, despite it being what the hitman deserved. "Please!"

Davin continued to advance on the man who had kidnapped his brother, then slashed his blade into the killer with frightening speed over and over, causing the hitman to scream out in agony, as Ezekiel turned away and closed his eyes tightly, being unable to watch someone die so brutally, let alone watch his own brother do the killing. When he finally finished and backed away from the fresh body and all the blood splatter surrounding it, Levi became solid again and moved to stand over the younger man who had betrayed him six years ago.

Without turning around, the hitman's murderer spoke up as he asked the man still alive, "Are you afraid of me?"

The truth was, Ezekiel was scared, but he struggled not to show it in front of the monster now standing over him as he slowly lifted his head again to look up at him and stated weakly, "How could you…? Why?"

"That son of a bitch drugged you, didn't he?" the older brother asked again tenderly like he actually loved his brother and looked down at the dead man on the floor, then back at Ezekiel as he knelt down to become eye level with him. "I suppose it was actually smart of him. I may not have seen you after all these years, but I know how good of a thief you must be by now."

"I know what you think of me, Liam," Levi continued as he reached his hand up to the younger man's face and gently took his chin in effort to get Ezekiel to look at him. "But you're no different than me. And you can't tell me you don't regret your decision to betray me."

The former Librarian looked into his eyes defiantly as he replied, "I did… what I had to… had to do to stop you… from hurting those… people. You're a monster. I only regret that you're… my brother."

Levi stood up straight as he kept his eyes down on the younger thief slowly falling unconscious before him and answered, "I can't kill you like this. Besides, we have more to talk about."

Ezekiel's brother swiftly cut through the cords that bound him to the chair, then carefully lifted him into his arms, once again like he cared for the young man, and when he was ready, Levi used the magic coin hidden inside his pocket and phased them both out of the shack. A car was parked nearby as the killer laid Ezekiel in the back seat, then got into the driver's side and drove away as if he had never been to the hitman's hiding place at all.

It was almost an hour later when the three Librarians and their Guardian suddenly appeared inside the shack after receiving word from the clipping book that their killer had killed again. Upon seeing the body of the hitman, more so seeing the brutality of his murder, Cassandra gasped and quickly turned away, while the others could only stare. Flynn was the first to break from the trance as he quickly knelt down over the body to look for any kind of clue that might help them to track Ezekiel's brother.

"Do you see anything?" Colonel Baird asked worryingly. "His death looks just like the others do. They were all killed with the same knife. The attack was brutal, but yet there's still no footprints or interruptions in the blood splatter patterns. The coin must feed on his anger, unless this sociopath really does have a deep hatred for each of his victims."

"You're right, there's nothing out of the ordinary, except for everything that you just said," Flynn responded as he stood again to keep looking around the room, until he noticed something else down on the floor beneath one of the chairs which had freshly cut cords still attached to it and leaned down to pick the object up. "This is Jenkins' pocket watch? What is it doing here?"

Jake quickly took it from Flynn as he stated worryingly, "Jones stole this from him a few days ago before this mission got all crazy, mostly just to get on his nerves."

Eve looked between her friends as she added, "Ezekiel left this here for us to find. He was here. And now… His brother must have kidnapped him. He's in even more trouble than we feared."


	13. Chapter 13

Ezekiel Jones And the Silver Coin

Chapter Thirteen

Inside the Annex…

Jenkins looked down at the timepiece with a broken clasp in his hands as he spoke up saying despondently, "You would think that I'd have noticed this was broken. Somehow, I didn't and I certainly look at it enough."

Jake looked at the Library's Caretaker and responded gruffly, "Jones didn't leave your watch for us to find so that we would come to rescue him."

"What do you mean?" Flynn asked in confusion, not having been with them when the thief left them.

"You heard him," Jake answered as he looked between the others, until he realized why the lead Librarian didn't understand. "Jones told us that he was going to search for his brother and get the coin back here to the Library once he stopped him. He left Jenkins' watch for us so that we'd know that he succeeded in finding him. That's it."

Eve nodded in agreement as she replied, "Stone's right. Whether he succeeds in getting the coin back to us or not, Ezekiel doesn't plan on returning to us. But that's not what's important right now. We're going to protect him no matter what he said and then we can focus on convincing him that he belongs here."

Cassandra asked quietly, "Yes, but how do we find him? We're always a step behind Levi and we still don't know how we're going to get the coin away from him. We don't even know where he keeps it."

"Perhaps we've been going about it all wrong," Flynn quickly responded as he ran to the bookshelves nearby, pulled a book from off one of the shelves, then set it down on the table in the middle of the room before him, the other Librarians, and the Caretaker. "Do we have something here that belongs to Ezekiel, I mean explicitly belongs to him?"

"As far as I know, he didn't take much of anything with him when he left, but then again, he didn't bring much with him when he came here either," Jake answered while he tried to think about the first time they all met. "He might have left some of his clothes along with his cell phone behind, but… Actually, I think he might have left his lock pick kit behind too."

The Librarian stated, "That will have to do. Go and get it. We might be able to use it to track him, if it means something to him, more than the rest of his belongings that is."

Jake ran to their friend's room to do so as Baird thought for a moment and replied, "I don't think he ever mentioned where he got it from. And we never asked. We didn't care enough to."

"That's okay," Flynn responded as Jake ran back into the Annex and took the kit from him, then set it down on the table while he continued to skim the open book's pages in search for whatever it was he was looking for. "You can make it up to him once we save him."

"What's your plan here, Sir?" Jenkins asked in confusion as Flynn started muttering something from off the page he finally stopped on. "If you're searching for the spell that I think you are, I don't think that a plain old lock pick kit will work. It needs to be far more valuable to…"

Before the Caretaker could finish, one of the picks inside the set began to rise and float in the air in front of them as Flynn said in surprise, "Well I'll be darned. It worked!"

Cassandra smiled as she watched it closely and answered, "It looks like at least one of them has some meaning to him. And this will lead us to where his brother's taken him?"

"I don't really know," the Librarian replied with a shrug.

"What?" Baird asked in frustration. "But you said that if this worked, it would help us find him?"

Flynn raised his hands in defense and responded, "Yes, of course in theory this should work, but to be honest, I haven't actually tried this kind of magic before, at least not like this. I am not exactly sure what to expect. All we can do is try and hope for the best."

Jake watched the pick closely as it moved toward the doorway and spoke again saying, "Then let's get moving, before Jones can get himself killed."

Without hesitating, everyone including their Caretaker, who rarely left the Library unless a mission required him to, all prepared themselves for whatever they might find on the other side of the portal, each of them feeling worried that they were going to lose one of their own all over again one way or another, after all the time they've been together for.

"How are we going to get the coin away from the monster?" Cassandra asked again, reiterating an earlier question.

"We've got a bit of magic of our own to help us," Flynn answered as he tucked a couple of small objects into his pockets and looked between his companions. "So long as he's distracted, we'll be able to subdue him."

Eve turned to Jake, who simply nodded, knowing what it was she was thinking, then she added, "And we'll be happy to distract him."

Jenkins replied, "I have a feeling Jones will have that covered."


	14. Chapter 14

Ezekiel Jones And the Silver Coin

Chapter Fourteen

Meanwhile…

When Levi turned around to glance down at his brother lying upon a couch with one of his wrists locked in handcuffs, the other end attached to one of the sofa's legs so that he wouldn't be able to break free, the older man found that Ezekiel was awake again, but was keeping his head turned away and his eyes trained on the wall beside him in order to avoid looking at his new captor.

"Are you feeling any better?" the murderer with multiple identities asked calmly as he picked up his cell phone and looked at its screen as if expecting it to ring any second, hoping for a call back from the woman who hired him to steal the jewels for her.

"If you're asking me if I'm still feeling the effects from the drugs, then no… I'm fine," Ezekiel answered coldly and then slowly sat up as far as he could as he began to look around the large room of what he could tell was a mansion he found that they were hiding out in. "What now, Levi? What are we doing here, in a place like this? You don't strike me as fancy living type."

The older man smiled as he pulled out the silver coin from his pocket and replied, "I'm not. I mean, I have more money than I could ever spend in a lifetime thanks this little trinket here, but I spend it my own way. We're actually at an associate's of mine, the same woman who obviously hired that hitman to kill me so that she wouldn't have to pay up. I need her to understand what a mistake that was. Unfortunately, she isn't home right now and she isn't calling me back, so it looks like we've got some time to talk."

Ezekiel looked at him pleadingly as he responded, "You can't kill this woman like you killed the other guy. They might deserve it, but if you keep on killing, you'll soon fall down a path that you won't ever be able to pull yourself back out of."

"It's too late for that, little brother, but it's nice to know that you still care about me," the killer said bitterly. "Is it really just my killing that bothers you so much, or is it that you've hated me your whole life? Why did you really turn me in all those years ago?"

"I told you, you're a monster," Ezekiel answered curtly as he struggled against the cuff keeping him restrained. "I kept hoping that you would one day come around, but I see now that was too blind to see that you will never change. Not anymore I'm not. What is it that you're waiting for? Just kill me and get it over with. At least then I won't have to see you murder anyone else. I've seen far too much death…"

When the younger man cut himself off and turned away, Levi kept his eyes on him as he began to roll the magical coin between his fingers and replied, "I don't want to kill you just yet. I want to know how it is that you know about this silver coin? It's obvious you know what it allows me to do and you don't appear at all surprised by its powers, nor did your friends. So, I'm going to ask you again, who do you work for and how do you know about the magic that in this world?"

His brother glanced back at him as he responded coldly, "I should be asking you the same question."

"An old man came to visit me at the prison one night a bit over a month ago," Levi answered as he sat back against the chair he had just sat down in across from the couch where Ezekiel sat. "Had a strange accent, called himself, Du… Dul…"

"Dulaque?" the former Librarian asked in shock upon hearing one of their old enemy's names once again after the villain had disappeared during what they all believed to be their final showdown with him. "He's still alive? And he came to you?"

Levi nodded and continued, "That's right. He said something about needing my help to destroy some group of people he called, the Librarians I believe. I had no idea what he meant or why he thought I could help him, but he offered me my freedom and an opportunity to get everything I could ever want. Then, he showed me this coin and its magic. I asked him what the catch was. All he said before he disappeared again was that all I had to do was do whatever I wanted with it, that eventually the Librarians would come to find me. That's who you are, isn't it? You and those friends of yours? You're one of these Librarians? That's why he was willing to help me. He must have known I was your brother and that by me killing you, I would help him get rid of his enemies, starting with you."

Ezekiel looked away as he tried to piece this new information together, then looked back up at the man before him and replied, "Look, you succeeded in getting rid of one of us. I quit before I came out to find you, but if you think that you can use me to lure them out so that you can try to kill them too, you will regret it. They're stronger than me, always were. I made a mistake thinking that I belonged with them. That's why I left."

"How dare you break into my home!" a woman called out all of a sudden as she walked into the room where the killer had settled in. "What do you want and who is this?"

"This Regina, is the young man I asked you to find for me," Levi responded smugly. "My kid brother, Liam Chase. Although, he goes by something different now, as I do."

Regina looked at the man nervously as she stated, "I was finding him for you, Davin. I still had a few days."

Davin McRaney nodded and then stood up as he moved closer to the woman and answered, "I'm afraid that you're just too late. Besides, you hired a hitman to try to kill me. I killed him first before he could, but I don't appreciate being double crossed."

"You can't!" Ezekiel shouted as he suddenly broke free from his restraint somehow and swiftly jumped on his brother's back before Levi could use the coin once again, in order to try to stop him from killing her when he raised the dagger he used to kill the other murderer. "Don't do this!"

"You won't get in my way again, Liam!" his brother cried out angrily as he quickly grabbed a tight hold on Ezekiel's neck and upper arm, then pulled him over his right shoulder as he threw him hard to the floor and finally slammed his fist against the side of the younger thief's head in order to knock him unconscious. "Fool!"

When he was sure that his brother wasn't getting up, he turned to find Regina Hennessy still standing there frozen in fear, having watched the short lived battle between the two young men play out, then slowly began to back away again as he continued to advance on her until she backed herself against the wall behind her and when she realized that she was trapped, he raised the dagger high above her to strike as Regina weakly begged, "Please! Please don't… I don't want to die!"

His blade came down and slashed her through her arm and then he was about to thrust the weapon into her chest when all of a sudden, a bright light appeared behind them as the strangers who ruined his theft the night he tried to steal the museum curator's passkey reappeared, along with two other strangers Levi didn't recognize.

Cassandra noticed their friend lying unconscious on the floor first as she cried out his name and rushed to his side, followed quickly by Jenkins, while Flynn, Eve, and Jake stood before the villain, prepared to fight against him with a few magical artifacts of their own, hoping that they would be able to defeat him without any of them getting killed in the process, including their killer.

Colonel Baird raised her gun as Levi raised his own weapon of choice while he glared between the Librarians, when Jake rushed forward wielding a trident in attempt to strike the man down, only to be knocked aside and shoved hard into the wall behind him with surprising strength.

Eve called out, "Poseidon's trident, are you crazy? Do you see water anywhere around here?"

"A trident's still a weapon even without magic isn't it?" the genius shouted back while he struggled to raise himself from the floor as the killer was about to advance on the Guardian again, until Flynn swiftly pulled out the first artifact he could think of from his satchel, revealing a small open chest containing a beating heart that suddenly made the monster grab his chest as he doubled over in pain.

"What the hell is that?" Eve asked in confusion as her own chest began to feel pressure, as did the others'. "Is that the tell tale heart? Flynn?"

Before their friend could answer, Levi raised himself up as far as he could and pitched his dagger forward toward Jake's chest with all the strength he could muster, until another shadow like figure suddenly phased through his friend and just as quickly unphased, the blade entering into Ezekiel's body instead, causing the youngest of the Librarians to cry out as he collapsed to the ground again, while Jake rushed forward to catch him before he could fall completely.

The older man immediately applied pressure over the wound in the middle of Ezekiel's stomach to try to stifle the blood flow, careful to avoid the dagger still embedded deep inside of him, then howled angrily, "Jones! Damn it! No, no, no!"

Eve fought against her own pressure in her chest as she rose and knocked the murderer out cold with a kick to his head, then Flynn weakly reached out to close the box, immediately ending the compression they all felt as they each raced to Ezekiel as well while the historian pulled the Australian close to strengthen his grip as he felt him slipping too fast.

Flynn reached out to pull the blade free until Jenkins quickly stopped him and said, "If you pull it out, he'll bleed out within seconds. The dagger is all that's keeping him alive."

"I managed to… to steal it, the coin… I mean," Ezekiel struggled to say as he weakly held out the silver coin in the palm of his hand to hand it off to their Guardian, who took it remorsefully as she gripped the younger man's hand and held it tightly. "I told you…I would… get it back to… to you."

"You did good," she stated fearfully as she looked into his eyes as Jenkins stood up and opened up another doorway into the Annex, leaving his friends behind. "Don't try to talk, just let us help you."

He smiled despite the pain and continued to talk anyway as he replied, "I guess you… were right about me… hav… having a selfless side. Who knew?"

Jake responded coldly, "That was the stupidest… You're not going to die on me, not when it's me who should be lying here. You can't let that monster beat you. Do you hear me, Jones?"

"I didn't," the youngest of them answered. "He never thought… I would amount… to anything and neither did… neither did I. I proved… us both wrong. I couldn't watch you die… not ag… again. I'm sor… sorry, for every… thing."

"We need the Bathsheba Oils of Healing," Cassandra whispered fearfully as Ezekiel's eyes closed and his head fell back heavily against Jake's arm. "He's dying so fast."

The portal reappeared as Jenkins rushed back over to them again and pulled a small bottle filled with the green oil from his coat, then replied, "As he drinks it, remove the blade, slowly and carefully."

Flynn gripped the hilt of the dagger and gently pulled it out as the Caretaker told him to while he poured the liquid into his mouth, struggling to get it down his throat as the thief was no longer breathing. Each of his friends' grips on the young man tightened as they all willed him to come back to them. Two minutes passed by and still nothing happened as the blood flow became heavy, until a glow appeared and the wound slowly healed and Ezekiel finally breathed in deep as his eyes opened to see each of his friends smiling down at him.

Jake let out the breath he was holding and sighed in relief as he spoke up again saying, "Thank God, you're alive. Don't you dare do that to us, ever again."

"Believe me, I didn't plan on it, but I…" the Australian started to respond until he cut himself off as friends helped him stand while he looked around the room and found his brother still lying unconscious from their Guardian giving him a kick to his head. "Not all of this was Levi's fault. I mean… most of it is sure, but it was Dulaque who gave him the silver coin."

"Dulaque?" Flynn stated in surprise as he took the silver coin from Baird's possession and placed it carefully inside his vest pocket until he'd be able to put it away inside a much safer place inside the Library. "But Dulaque's gone."

Ezekiel shook his head as he answered, "Not anymore he isn't. He's back and he visited my brother a month ago while he was still in prison, after somehow learning about our past. He gave Levi the coin and told him to make trouble, knowing he would lure us out to him, or more importantly, lure me out. Dulaque's looking to kill us all and he figured he'd start with the weakest, me."

Eve shook her head as she replied, "That's not true, Ezekiel. Look at what you did for us. You died to save Jake just now, like you died to save us all days ago after being trapped inside the video game. You claimed you don't remember all you did, but you do, don't you? Something you said while you were dying, made me realize that you must remember something about what happened to us."

"I didn't at first," the youngest of them responded nervously. "But it all slowly came back to me over time, in dreams, brief glimpses of a memory… I didn't tell you, because sentiment isn't exactly my thing."

"Well, what you did for was incredibly brave and we'll certainly never forget it," Cassandra said and leaned in closer as she kissed his cheek, then nervously stepped back as his brother slowly began to come to. "And you are most definitely not at fault for anything your brother's done, not now and not since he went bad however long ago he did. What are we going to do with him?"

Jake wanted to nothing more than to kill the murderer himself, but he fought down his anger as he glared at the man and answered, "We've got no choice, but to send him back to prison for the murders he's committed. It's where he belongs. Dulaque isn't stupid enough to break him out again after he failed to kill us. And we know to keep track of him now."

The older brother stared at Ezekiel in surprise as he spoke up asking, "How is it you're still alive? I killed you?"

"You know about magic now," the goodhearted thief replied. "You can't even begin to image all that's out in the world. You are going to pay for all that you've done, Levi. And I won't protect you."

"How did you get a hold of the coin?" he quickly asked as police sirens could be heard in the distance.

His brother smiled as he responded, "I did what any good thief does when he sees something they want. I kept you distracted while I picked your pocket where I saw you replace the coin before. You remember our struggle?"

Levi shook his head in disbelief and stated, "You're a better thief than I believed you to be, Liam."

"I'm no longer Liam Chase, but Ezekiel Jones," he answered smugly. "And Ezekiel Jones is all awesome, not to mention a Librarian. That is if you will all have me back?"

"After everything?" Eve asked as if she questioned his request to return to them. "As far as we're concerned, you never left."

The police finally arrived and rearrested the killer and once he was taken care of, Jenkins spoke again as he said in frustration, "I hate to kill the moment, but shouldn't we get back to the Library now? There are things to do and now we've got a big job ahead of us."

Flynn nodded in agreement and replied, "Ah yes, to find Dulaque; again. And hopefully before he can cause more trouble that we not be so lucky to escape from."

"That isn't going to be easy," Baird responded. "Not that any of our missions necessarily are, but I mean now that we know he's back and working even harder to kill us than before, he's going to be sure to make himself as impossible for us to find as he can and God only knows how many magical artifacts he has in his possession, or how many members of the Serpent Brotherhood are left."

"Well, no matter what's ahead of us, as long as you all work together, you can do just about anything," Flynn spoke again. "I have to get back to doing what I do best, while the four of you do what you all do best, as it has been. I'll always come when I'm needed. And Ezekiel Jones, I owe you an apology for doubting your reason for being here. You are definitely no ordinary thief."

He smiled and then stated, "Of course not. Ezekiel Jones is one of a kind."

The End


	15. Thank You

Thank you to all of those who have read and have written reviews for my stories! They are much appreciated. I'm honored to have you all for fans and I hope to hear from you all again in the future, should you choose to read and enjoy more of my work. Best of wishes to you all!

Sincerely,

Genevieve Kelly


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